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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27560221">Forgetting and Remembering</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTimelessChild0/pseuds/Fedora%20Of%20Adorableness'>Fedora Of Adorableness (TheTimelessChild0)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Omovember 2020 [15]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>White Collar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Awesome Elizabeth Burke (White Collar), Embarrassment, Omovember 15, Omovember 2020, Protective Peter Burke, partial wetting, wetting a chair, writer's choice</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:20:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,045</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27560221</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTimelessChild0/pseuds/Fedora%20Of%20Adorableness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This time, it <i> was</i> the chair.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Neal Caffrey &amp; Satchmo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Omovember 2020 [15]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987816</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>WC²</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Forgetting and Remembering</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Burkes had gotten themselves a new lounge chair for the living room. And naturally, they had invited Neal to see it. He was petting Satchmo repeatedly as he entered. </p><p> </p><p>“What did Pottery Barn scam you with this time?”</p><p> </p><p>El scoffed. “Nothing, mister. I ordered it online, from a <em> different </em>shop,”</p><p> </p><p>Neal smiled in surprise as he saw it. It has a light wooden frame, but not white. The cushion nearly was though, an equally light cream colour.</p><p> </p><p>“Box chair. Nice. Hey, where did you hide the time machine that took us to 1993?” Caffrey quipped.</p><p> </p><p>“She left it at Woodstock last week,” Peter chimed in.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, it’s still nice,” Neal relented, taking a seat. </p><p> </p><p>Both Burkes were staring at him. They had taken their place on different ends of the sofa, and expected their guest to want to try out their new acquisition.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve kept it warm for you since we bought it,” Elizabeth informed him, getting some tea. When she returned, she made a point out of placing the cup next to the new chair.</p><p> </p><p>It worked. The con man stood up, uncertain. Then he sighed, sitting down again comfortably.</p><p> </p><p>They sat and talked with their cups of tea. At this point, Neal had entirely forgotten exactly where he was sitting, and what he was sitting on. </p><p> </p><p>He leaned back, letting the heat rest in his mouth. He was completely unaware of the heat permeating from the opposite side of his body. His friends were <em> not</em>, however.</p><p> </p><p>“Neal,” Peter gently prodded. This successfully got his attention. Burke tilted his head down, hinting at the man’s pants. Neal looked down and shot out of his seat. </p><p> </p><p>“Shit! I am <em>so</em> sorry, I don’t know <em>how </em>this..happened,” Caffrey mumbled, face as red as wine. He looked back at the cushion and fretted at the possibility of a wet spot on it.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, you can still make it upstairs,” El encouraged, ever good in a crisis...</p><p> </p><p>“Come on,” Peter beckoned. Neal raced past him, and zoomed up the stairs to the bathroom.</p><p> </p><p>Burke briefly texted Mrs Burke to deal with the chair while <em> he </em> dealt with Caffrey.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Inside, the victim of the unfortunate accident was dealing with it in the obvious way, with his pants all the way down. He pinched his nose in frustration, not sure whom he should blame. The chair for existing, the store for selling it, himself for being stupid enough to sit in it after what happened <em>last</em> <em>time</em>...and again now.</p><p> </p><p>He resolved to stay optimistic. He knew what to do about his clothes, and the inside of his thighs.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, Ellen. Your words of wisdom don’t apply here,” he commented to absolutely no one.</p><p> </p><p>Outside the door, Peter narrowed his eyes. He was concerned at the embarrassment no doubt felt by the thirty-something sweetheart that was his CI.</p><p> </p><p>“Neal?” he knocked on the door. </p><p> </p><p>“I’ll just be a minute,” Caffrey answered.</p><p> </p><p>“Take your time. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t worrying about the chair. There’s an instruction on how to clean the cushion. If anyone can figure it out it’s El. So, that’s fine. Not your fault, either way,” Peter assured him.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks,” a muttering voice behind the door uttered.</p><p> </p><p>“No problem,” Burke spoke softly, stepping away from the door.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The tea had been removed and replaced with water. And Neal was back in the old chair, fiddling with his expensive, dubiously acquired watch. </p><p> </p><p>“We’re not mad Neal. Really. It’s just a chair,” Peter pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, it was just an accident,” El reaffirmed.</p><p> </p><p>“20 years overdue. Interesting. I didn’t think I ever <em> forgot </em> to have one,” he quipped. </p><p> </p><p>“That’s not how it works. Happens when you least expect it. Even decades apart,” Burke argued.</p><p> </p><p>“You think you have your body under control and then it goes and does this,” Neal scoffed.</p><p> </p><p>“You're smart enough to know just how independent the nervous system can be,” Peter suggested.</p><p> </p><p>“Science. The one thing that’s fool-proof,” Caffrey nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing’s fool-proof, Neal,”</p><p> </p><p>“So I’m learning,” he chuckled. So did the Burkes. And that was the end of the shame.</p><p> </p><p>Peter broached a new, albeit related subject. </p><p> </p><p>“Why did you mention Ellen before?” he wanted to know.</p><p> </p><p>“You heard that, huh?” Neal noted quietly, looking away.</p><p> </p><p>“You mentioned something about ‘words of wisdom’,” Burke recited with intrigue</p><p> </p><p>“It was just this thing she used to tell me every time I had an accident. And yes, the gap is narrower than you think,” he admitted.</p><p> </p><p>“As it happens, in my old house in St Louis, we had a chair just like this one. Down to the colour of the wood, the size. Still feels slightly big for me,” Neal smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“My mom bought it when I was three. One day, she put me down in that very chair, not realising how similar it was to the handles on my <em> potty </em> chair. So, I just <span class="u">completely</span> <em>soaked </em>it, all the way through. One of the better bathroom breaks of my life,” he commented.</p><p> </p><p>“I peed so much, every subsequent time I peed my pants, at home or in public, Ellen would always comfort me by saying ‘<em> at least it wasn’t the chair </em> ‘,”</p><p> </p><p>Now they understood. Why he had been hesitant to sit down at first. Why the accident had happened in the first place. This was a very old association, a relic of WitSec.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, there’s an easy fix for this problem, you know,” Elizabeth noted.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s that?” </p><p> </p><p>“Do what you usually do the <em>minute</em> you enter this house. Go to the bathroom,” she reminded him.</p><p> </p><p>Now he was cringing and covering his face for another reason entirely.</p><p> </p><p>“I should’ve petted Satchmo more,” he acknowledged.</p><p> </p><p>“That was probably the reason he was so clingy. Keep you in the hallway until you remembered,” Peter theorised.</p><p> </p><p>As if he heard, Satchmo barked and jumped up on Neal.</p><p> </p><p>Burke walked over, ruffling both heads of hair. El turned on the tv. </p><p> </p><p>*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *</p><p> </p><p>First thing that happened when he visited next, was Satchmo barking loudly and running up the stairs.</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm...I think he’s trying to tell me something...” Neal commented, sarcastically.</p><p> </p><p>He waved as he walked up to the dog, scratching on the bathroom door.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> At least he’s been taught how to knock... </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The End.</p>
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